Stan Lee quotes: the prolific comic-book writer’s wisest words and most memorable catchphrases.
“I always sympathized with the people who did work for hire; I was one of them.”
“I never thought that Spider-Man would become the world wide icon that he is. I just hoped the books would sell and I’d keep my job.”
“Excelsior!”
“I’m happiest when I’m working. If I’m not working, I feel like I’m wasting my time.”
“A superhero’s catchphrase should be like a really memorable advertising slogan. It sticks in your head and you can’t stop humming it. And let’s face it, superheroes are just really selling themselves as products.”
“I’m just somebody who tries to write things that entertain people. And if I can do it in a way that makes them prefer to emulate the good guy over the bad guy, I’m happy.”
“Face front, true believers!”
“If you enjoy what you do, if you are interested in what you do, I really think that’s the best situation.”
“I don’t have inspiration. I only have ideas. Ideas and deadlines.”
“My theory about why people like superheroes is that when we were kids, we all loved to read fairy tales. Fairy tales are all about things bigger than life. Then you get a little bit older and you stop reading fairy tales but you don’t ever outgrow your love of them.”
“I don’t really see a need to retire as long as I am having fun.”
“The ‘problem’ is that Comic-Con is so damned successful. People who are there seem to have a wonderful time. The very size of it makes it exciting. Wherever you look, there’s something exciting. The attendees are always looking around for a familiar face. It’s either, ‘There’s a movie star!’ Or, ‘There’s a TV star!’ Or, ‘There’s the guy who drew the Green Lantern!’ It means so much to the fans. It makes them feel like they’re where it’s happening. It’s like Woodstock.”
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
“I don’t think superpowers automatically means there won’t be any personality problems, family problems, or even money problems. I just tried to write characters who are human beings who also have superpowers.”
“Hulk smash!”
“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”
“I had a publisher who felt comics were just for little kiddies, so he never wanted me to use words of more than two syllables.”
“Every day there’s a new development… there’s no limit to the things that are happening.”
“I think the most important thing is to be busy, because if you have work occupying you, you don’t have time to worry about the other serious problems in life.”
“I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers.”
“No one has a perfect life. Everybody has something that he wishes was not the way it is.”
“Nuff said!”
“Well, the biggest thing I like about Spider-Man is that he seems to be so successful. Everybody else seems to like him. Basically, the thing that always intrigued me, what I always wanted to produce was a character that the average reader could identify with. He’s not the strongest man in the world. And in his normal identity as Peter Parker, he’s not as handsome as Brad Pitt, he’s not a great athlete. He’s just a regular guy like most guys. And I think that has helped to create the popularity that he has because so many readers can just identify with him.”
“Everybody learns differently and everybody gets to a certain point from a different direction.”
“Money’s okay, but what I really like is working.”
“It’s fun doing something that hasn’t been done before.”
“To have an idea is the easiest thing in the world. Everybody has ideas. But you have to take that idea and make it into something people will respond to. That’s hard.”
“If you are interested in what you do, that keeps you going!”
“When you can sit down with a plain sheet of paper in front of you and make some notes, and, little by little, you see it take shape and become a concept for a movie or a TV show. That’s a real thrill. You watch it go from notes on a paper to a meeting with writers and directors and actors. I can’t think of anything that’s more exciting.”
“Reading is very good. And you can quote me!”
“When you work with people whom you like and you admire because they’re so good at what they do, it doesn’t feel like work. It’s like you’re playing.”
“To tell you the truth, I never thought of myself as much of a success.”
“It’s just, it’s fun to stay in the game.”
“I try not to do anything that’s too close to what I’ve done before. And the nice thing is we have a big universe here. It’s filled with new ideas. All you have to do is grab them.”
“I always figure I’m not unique, and something that would please me hopefully would please a lot of other people that have the same tastes that I do.”
“We all wish we had superpowers. We all wish we could do more than we can do.”
“There is only one who is all powerful, and his greatest weapon is love.”
“Everybody wants to feel that you’re writing to a certain demographic because that’s good business, but I’ve never done that. I tried to write stories that would interest me. I’d say, ‘What would I like to read?’ I don’t think you can do your best work if you’re writing for somebody else, because you never know what that somebody else really thinks or wants.”
“Anything that entertains, that takes people away from their own problems, is good.”
“I’m very proud of being a hack. It’s why I’ve lived as long as I have, I think.”
“I’m no prophet, but I’m guessing that comic books will always be strong. I don’t think anything can really beat the pure fun and pleasure of holding a magazine in your hand, reading the story on paper, being able to roll it up and put it in your pocket, reread again later, show it to a friend, carry it with you, toss it on a shelf, collect them, have a lot of magazines lined up and read them again as a series. I think young people have always loved that. I think they always will.”
“Achilles, without his heel, you wouldn’t even know his name today.”
“It’s a tremendous challenge, because there have been so many characters created over the years. Every time you think you come up with a great name, you find out somebody has already done it. Dreaming up the stories isn’t that hard, but coming up with a good title is the toughest part.”
“I am very lucky because everything that I do is exciting to me. It’s always new.”
“If we don’t blow ourselves up, the future will be wonderful.”
“Entertainment is one of the most important things in people’s lives. Without it, they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you’re able to entertain people, you’re doing a good thing.”
“The more you read, the better you’re going to become as a storyteller.”
“Negative information is that which, immediately upon acquiring, causes the recipient to know less than he did before.”
“I don’t analyze things too closely. I find the more you analyze, the more you get away from spontaneity.”
“The only advice anybody can give is, if you wanna be a writer, keep writing. And read all you can, read everything.”
“If you’re writing about a character, if he’s a powerful character, unless you give him vulnerability, I don’t think he’ll be as interesting to the reader.”
“I’m sort of a pressure writer. If somebody says, ‘Stan, write something,’ and I have to have it by tomorrow morning, I’ll just sit down and I’ll write it. It always seems to come to me. But I’m better doing a rushed job because if it isn’t something that’s due quickly, I won’t work on it until it becomes almost an emergency and then I’ll do it.”
I’m no Stan Lee, but here’s a good way to kill writer’s block.
